Nothing against your average grocery store—I’m grateful to have so many options in one place, something that would baffle my ancestors—but going to the farmer’s market has brought me so much closer to the natural world. I’m aware of the seasons in a way that I never was when I blindly bought zucchini all year. I know what it’s like to wait patiently for those first perfect blueberries, and to jump on the rhubarb before it’s gone. I can taste the difference when produce is in season.

You might remember summer days spent sucking all of the flavor out of a Popsicle, leaving only ice left on the stick, but it might surprise you to know this was part of the original marketing plan.

As the drink scene grows in Spokane, vintage-style drinking vinegars are finding their way back into the mix. Drinking vinegars serve as a versatile addition to any beverage with tart, fruity and sour flavors.

Spokane author Kate Lebo is known for her love of pie, whiskey, and the local arts community. In The Book of Difficult Fruit, Lebo explores a variety of tasty but troublesome items. This exploration of produce ranging from the mundane to exotic is sure to teach you something new make you think twice next time you’re offered fruit salad!

If you aren’t familiar with Turkish Delight, you might imagine all manner of delicious morsels. This rose-flavored substance halfway between jello and mochi isn't all that familiar to the American palate, but in England, Turkish Delight is a popular Christmas treat.

With an emphasis on sustainable agriculture, Hierophant Meadery offers the Inland Northwest with a variety of mead, an alcoholic and honey-based beverage. Its tasting room is located in Green Bluff, where visitors can purchase flights of mead and sit outside by the fire.

In 2009, Will and Jackie Jordan moved to Green Bluff to help out on her parent’s farm before starting their cider operation. Now Twilight Cider uses local produce from Green Bluff to create a range of ciders including seasonal releases and experimental one-offs you’ll want to snap up while they last like spiced apple, peach, hopped apricot and black cherry rhubarb.

In 2000, teachers Craig and Jane Deitz moved their family to Green Bluff to farm raspberries as a summer project, quickly becoming Bodacious Berries farm. Several years later, Craig started fermenting beer in their shower and began pulling pints for Green Bluff visitors looking for a drink after a day of picking pumpkins and fruits. Turns out people liked a little beer along with their berries!

Sometimes you want to relax, get some peace and quiet, and sleep in. In many lodging establishments, this isn’t strictly possible. A quiet moment with a book beside the pool becomes a splash-fest with sound effects. The buffet breakfast is punctuated with negotiations over how many more bites must disappear from a small plate. The walls can be thin, and the hours different from the ones you’d like to keep.

Townshend Cellar develops and serves wines for every occasion, mood and meal. From whites to reds, the variety of locally made wines boosts the specialty drink presence in Green Bluff and the Spokane area. Venturing out to Green Bluff is the perfect opportunity to check this winery out and go wine tasting.

Within Washington State there is already a beautiful diversity of wine in terms of style and varietals. Add some international, old-world-techniques and you have the potential for a blend that is much more than the sum of its parts.